Death toll number in Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria may be more than 4,600

PUERTO RICO—Recent reports estimate that as many as 4,645 people died in Hurricane Maria. The official death toll in Puerto Rico remains at 64.

“These numbers … underscore the inattention of the US government to the frail infrastructure of Puerto Rico,” authors from Harvard University and other institutions wrote in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The official death toll in Puerto Rico has been the subject of controversy since Hurricane Maria hit the island on September 20.

Other estimates report Maria contributed to approximately 1,000 deaths. The Harvard team arrived at a significantly higher estimate by surveying randomly chosen households earlier this year.